Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world
“In Matthew’s gospel, before Jesus ascends, he tells them, very simply, ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.’ He urges them to baptize, to teach, to carry on the work that he has begun. But his first direction is so clear: ‘Go.’ The world is waiting. Act on what I have taught you. And [...]
Back in the 1940s, a father found himself spending one too many Saturday afternoons at a California amusement park with his two young daughters. He’d spend a couple hours on a park bench, reading the paper or watching the skies for signs of rain, mostly feeling bored. And he would look around and see dozens [...]
The writer Amy Welborn lives in Alabama, near Birmingham, and she spent part of this past week volunteering at a call center, helping people whose lives had been turned upside down, literally, by the tornadoes that tore through the region. She wrote about her experience on her blog, and described what people were doing for [...]
With all the attention focused on the royal wedding the last few days, it would be easy to overlook another global event this weekend: the beatification of Pope John Paul. I wanted to spend a little time this morning talking about him – and, in particular, about a key part of his life that I [...]
Several years ago, the PBS series “American Masters” decided to profile a true American master, Don Hewitt, the creator and executive producer of 60 MINUTES. And the reporter asked him, what is the secret of the show’s success? How has it endured for four decades as one of the top rated shows in America? And [...]
For a Holy Thursday meditation, a blast from the past … A few nights ago, The History Channel showed a documentary in which scientists attempted to create what may be the most realistic 3-D image of the face of Christ. They spent many months on the project, using sophisticated computer technology to craft the image [...]
It feels good to sit down, doesn’t it? When I was a kid, I was impatient. I used to dread going to church on Palm Sunday. There was a long mass and all the standing for the gospel, and I couldn’t wait to sit down. It was probably the only Sunday I looked forward to [...]
Every now and then, you’ll find a film critic who bemoans the state of Hollywood movies by pointing out that there are too many sequels. Last year, a writer noted that in 2010 there were 86 sequels in various stages of development. Just this year, we have “Scream 4″ about to open, along with “Underworld [...]
Today’s gospel begins with an encounter between Christ and a blind beggar. So I want to start off with a story of another beggar – a story, in fact, involving Pope John Paul. Several years ago, a priest from the Archdiocese of New York was visiting Rome. As he was walking into a church to [...]
Today’s gospel poses this intriguing challenge: What would happen if we met Jesus in the middle of an ordinary day? How would we react? Well, consider the story of a young Japanese woman named Satoko Kitahara. Last week the new Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, used one of his homilies to tell her story. [...]
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